The Seminole Wars

First Seminole War

After the American Revolution, Spain regained control of
Florida from Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris. When the British evacuated
Florida, Spanish colonists as well as settlers from the newly formed United
States came pouring in. Many of these new residents were lured by favorable
Spanish terms for acquiring property, called land grants. Even Seminoles were
encouraged to set up farms, because they provided a buffer between Spanish
Florida and the United States. Escaped slaves also entered Florida, trying to
reach a place where their U.S. masters had no authority over them.

Back
when Britain controlled Florida, the British often incited Seminoles against
American settlers who were migrating south into Seminole territory. This, combined with the safe-haven the
Seminoles were providing to escaped slaves, led to the U.S. Army making increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish
territory to attack the tribe and recapture the slaves. These skirmishes, led
by forces under General Andrew Jackson between 1817–1818, became known as the First Seminole War. These
campaigns attacked several key Seminole locations and forced the tribe farther
south into Florida. Following the war, the
United States effectively controlled east Florida. By 1821, the territory was brought under full
U.S. control as Spain formally ceded Florida to the United States as part of
the Adams-Onis Treaty.

As
soon as the United States acquired Florida, it began urging the Indians there
to leave their lands and relocate along with other Southeastern tribes to the Indian
Territory west of the Mississippi River, in what is now present-day
Oklahoma.

Second
Seminole War

In the
spring of 1832 the Seminoles were called to a meeting at Payne's Landing on the
Oklawaha River. The treaty negotiated with the U.S.
government called for the Seminoles to move west, if the land was found to be
suitable. A delegation of seven chiefs toured the area for several months and,
on March 28, 1833, signed what they believed to be a statement that the new land was suitable for consideration.

Upon their
return to Florida, however, there was disagreement as to the terms of the
treaty. Many of the chiefs stated that
they had not committed to move their people to the new territory and that they
had been coerced, through force and misinterpretation into signing. Even some U.S. Army officers claimed that the
chiefs had been "wheedled and bullied into signing." Others noted
evidence of trickery in how the treaty was phrased.

The refusal
of most Seminoles to abandon the reservation that had been specifically established
for them north of Lake Okeechobee and to relocate west of the Mississippi River led to what was known as the Second Seminole
War. The Second Seminole War was the longest and
most costly of all the wars of removal fought by the U. S. Government. It formally began with what is now known as
Dade’s Massacre in December 1835, as well as the vengeful killing of the agent
to the Seminoles, Wiley Thompson, by Osceola, a young Creek warrior who emerged as one of the most powerful
leaders of Seminole resistance to removal. This started a conflict that would last
until 1842 and see multiple American commanders try and fail to completely
defeat and remove the Seminoles. As the war wore on, the Seminole population
steadily shrank as warriors were killed, and as groups were sent west either
through capture or, rarely, acquiescence to removal.

Under chiefs and warriors including
Osceola, Jumper, Alligator, Micanopy, Arpeika, Halleck Tustenuggee, Coacoochee,
and many others, the Seminoles as a nation never stopped resisting. The war was
vicious and bloody, and often involved deception on both sides: on multiple
occasions overwhelmed Seminole leaders would agree to emigrate, only to use the
preparation time to gather supplies and ammunition and then disappear back into
the impenetrable landscape. General Jesup captured many important Seminole leaders,
including Osceola and Coacoochee, by seizing them while under a false white
flag of truce.

The Second Seminole War claimed the
lives of over 1,500 U. S. soldiers and cost the government an estimated fifteen
million dollars. At its conclusion in
1842, with no peace treaty or armistice declared, roughly 3,000 Seminoles had
been removed to the Indian Territory. A
handful – less than 500 – was left to die deep in the Florida Everglades.

The
Third Seminole War

The
Third Seminole War, which was in reality a series of skirmishes largely over
land, lasted from 1855 until 1858. The war was also known as Billy Bowlegs' War because Billy Bowlegs was the
main Seminole leader in this third and final installment. By the conclusion of
the war in 1858, Billy Bowlegs finally agreed to
emigrate, taking most of those remaining with him. However,
a small band of Seminoles under Sam Jones never left Florida, staying hidden in
the Big Cypress Swamp. The approximately 3,500 Seminoles who are in Florida
today are the descendants of these Seminoles, as well as a few families who
found their way back from the West.